---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We can't cure a shortage by increasing…"
description: "\"We can't cure a shortage by increasing the supply.\" — Garrett Hardin"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/garrett-hardin-11328_cures_we-can-t-cure-a-shortage-by-increasing-t_2881374.jpg"
---

#  We can't cure a shortage by increasing the supply.

![“We can't cure a shortage by increasing the supply.” quote by Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/garrett-hardin-11328_cures_we-can-t-cure-a-shortage-by-increasing-t_2881374.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/garrett-hardin-11328_cures_we-can-t-cure-a-shortage-by-increasing-t_2881374.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/garrett-hardin-11328_cures_we-can-t-cure-a-shortage-by-increasing-t_2881374.jpg)

> “We can't cure a shortage by increasing the supply.”

[Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Increasing supply alone cannot solve a shortage; demand management and systemic changes are also required.

**In simple terms:** Supply boost alone won’t fix shortages.

Key Takeaway

Address demand and system issues, not just supply.

Themes

economics resource management systems thinking

Mood

analytical pragmatic

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- market shortages
- resource allocation
- environmental scarcity
- public health

Key Concepts

supply‑demand balance policy design

Questions to Reflect On

- What demand‑side solutions could help?
- How can policies reduce scarcity?

A Different Perspective

Only focusing on supply can ignore root causes of scarcity.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/)

## Related quotes

> [“Learning is like the fuel that moves the machinery of your body towards it's destination of success. Shortage is possible, hence spare supply is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/learning-is-like-the-fuel-that-moves-the-machinery-of-your-body/)

[Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/)

> [Conventional turbines only work up to 200 feet, but capturing a small fraction of the global wind energy at higher altitudes could be sufficient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-griffith/conventional-turbines-only-work-up-to-200-feet-but-capturing-a-small/)

[Saul Griffith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-griffith/)

> [You're really spread out now, you've got stuff all over the WORLD! You've got stuff at home, stuff in storage, stuff in Honolulu, stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/you-re-really-spread-out-now-you-ve-got-stuff-all-over-the-world-you/)

[George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/)

> [What the Web has never figured out is how to pay for reporting, which, with the collapse of print newspapers, is in desperately short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/what-the-web-has-never-figured-out-is-how-to-pay-for-reporting-which/)

[George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/)

> [I can clearly trace my passion for reading back to the Jonesboro, Georgia, library, where, for the first time in my life, I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-can-clearly-trace-my-passion-for-reading-back-to-the-jonesboro/)

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

> [No, I gained weight while playing the role of Rodney Mckay on Stargate Atlantis... breakfast burritos and a near endless supply of donuts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hewlett/no-i-gained-weight-while-playing-the-role-of-rodney-mckay-on-stargate/)

[David Hewlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hewlett/)

> [I'm confident that we have measures in place. And the additional measures that we announced yesterday will be even more protective of our food…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-veneman/i-m-confident-that-we-have-measures-in-place-and-the-additional/)

[Ann Veneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-veneman/)

> [I tend to look at things from the supply side, looking for ways to make it less expensive to do more production. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-toomey/i-tend-to-look-at-things-from-the-supply-side-looking-for-ways-to/)

[Pat Toomey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-toomey/)

> [Supply always comes on the heels of demand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/supply-always-comes-on-the-heels-of-demand/)

[Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/)

> [We can have the best health insurance options in the world, and people still won't get needed care if we don't increase our supply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-merkley/we-can-have-the-best-health-insurance-options-in-the-world-and-people/)

[Jeff Merkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-merkley/)

> [As the Nasdaq soared in 1999 and early 2000, demand for many offerings far exceeded the supply of shares available at the initial offering price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/as-the-nasdaq-soared-in-1999-and-early-2000-demand-for-many-offerings/)

[Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/)

> [“It was in Cleveland that Magic Slim became the most successful pornographic film producer in America. His training center was a key link in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hahn/it-was-in-cleveland-that-magic-slim-became-the-most-successful/)

[Nick Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hahn/)

> [Supply and demand eventually rebalance. We've seen this again and again and again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-gorman/supply-and-demand-eventually-rebalance-we-ve-seen-this-again-and/)

[James P. Gorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-gorman/)

> [I think what is important for things to be funny is if you the listener, or the reader, get a chance to supply the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-frazier/i-think-what-is-important-for-things-to-be-funny-is-if-you-the/)

[Ian Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-frazier/)

> [Promoting the use of sustainable and renewable rainforest products can help to stop rainforest devastation. The rainforests are much more valuable alive than cut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kilham/promoting-the-use-of-sustainable-and-renewable-rainforest-products/)

[Chris Kilham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kilham/)

## More by Garrett Hardin

> [Ecological differentiation is the necessary condition for coexistence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/ecological-differentiation-is-the-necessary-condition-for-coexistence/)

[Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/)

> [Fundamentalists are panicked by the apparent disintegration of the family, the disappearance of certainty and the decay of morality. Fear leads them to ask,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/fundamentalists-are-panicked-by-the-apparent-disintegration-of-the/)

[Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/)

> [Indeed, our particular concept of private property, which deters us from exhausting the positive resources of the earth, favors pollution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/indeed-our-particular-concept-of-private-property-which-deters-us/)

[Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/)

> [“Individualism is cherished because it produces freedom, but the gift is conditional.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/individualism-is-cherished-because-it-produces-freedom-but-the-gift/)

[Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/)

> [But it is no good using the tongs of reason to pull the Fundamentalists' chestnuts out of the fire of contradiction. Their real troubles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/but-it-is-no-good-using-the-tongs-of-reason-to-pull-the/)

[Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/)

> [To say that we mutually agree to coercion is not to say that we are required to enjoy it, or even to pretend we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/to-say-that-we-mutually-agree-to-coercion-is-not-to-say-that-we-are/)

[Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/)

> [The god who is reputed to have created fleas to keep dogs from moping over their situation must also have created fundamentalists to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/the-god-who-is-reputed-to-have-created-fleas-to-keep-dogs-from-moping/)

[Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/)

> [It takes five years for a willing person's mind to change. Have patience with yourself and others when treading in an area protected by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/it-takes-five-years-for-a-willing-person-s-mind-to-change-have/)

[Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/)

> [Economists (and others) who are satisfied with nature-free equations develop a dangerous hubris about the potency of our species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/economists-and-others-who-are-satisfied-with-nature-free-equations/)

[Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/)

> [No one should be able to enter a wilderness by mechanical means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/no-one-should-be-able-to-enter-a-wilderness-by-mechanical-means/)

[Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/)

> [The morality of an act is a function of the state of the system at the time it is performed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/the-morality-of-an-act-is-a-function-of-the-state-of-the-system-at/)

[Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/)

> [Value is a relative concept: the value of each action is determined by comparing it with other possible actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/value-is-a-relative-concept-the-value-of-each-action-is-determined-by/)

[Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/)

> [The optimum population is, then, less than the maximum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/the-optimum-population-is-then-less-than-the-maximum/)

[Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/)

> [(Technology reliability) x (Human reliability) = (System reliability)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/technology-reliability-x-human-reliability-system-reliability/)

[Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/)

> [Numeracy: 1. The art of putting numbers to things, that is, assigning amounts to variables in order that practical decisions may be reach. 2.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/numeracy-1-the-art-of-putting-numbers-to-things-that-is-assigning/)

[Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/)

[Explore all 60 Garrett Hardin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/)

## More Cures quotes

> [The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-only-cure-for-nihilism-is-for-liberal-democratic-societies-their/)

[Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/)

> [One of the most powerful concepts, one which is a sure cure for lack of confidence, is the thought that God is with you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/one-of-the-most-powerful-concepts-one-which-is-a-sure-cure-for-lack/)

[Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/)

> [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [Jesus never met a disease he could not cure, a birth defect he could not reverse, a demon he could not exorcise. But he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/jesus-never-met-a-disease-he-could-not-cure-a-birth-defect-he-could/)

[Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/)

> [It is some alleviation to ills we cannot cure to speak of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-some-alleviation-to-ills-we-cannot-cure-to-speak-of-them/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [Being single isnt the cause of loneliness, and marriage is not necessarily the cure. There are many lonely married people as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-jones/being-single-isnt-the-cause-of-loneliness-and-marriage-is-not/)

Renee Jones

> [We know nothing of the principle of health, the positive of which pathology is the negative, except from observation and experience. And nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/we-know-nothing-of-the-principle-of-health-the-positive-of-which/)

[Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/)

> [One day I was running around playing with my son Connor when afterwards I was sweating, tired and out of breath. I was embarrassed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-carey/one-day-i-was-running-around-playing-with-my-son-connor-when/)

[Drew Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-carey/)

> [Arise Evans had a fungous nose, and said, it was revealed to him, that the King's hand would cure him, and at the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-aubrey/arise-evans-had-a-fungous-nose-and-said-it-was-revealed-to-him-that/)

[John Aubrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-aubrey/)

> [In the history of man it has been very generally the case that when evils have grown insufferable they have touched the point of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/in-the-history-of-man-it-has-been-very-generally-the-case-that-when/)

[Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/)

> [“Suckers think that you cure greed with money, addiction with substances, expert problems with experts, banking with bankers, economics with economists, and debt crises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/suckers-think-that-you-cure-greed-with-money-addiction-with/)

[Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/)

> [A lean purse is easier to cure than to endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-s-clason/a-lean-purse-is-easier-to-cure-than-to-endure/)

[George S. Clason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-s-clason/)

> [Physicians, when the cause of disease is discovered, consider that the cure is discovered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/physicians-when-the-cause-of-disease-is-discovered-consider-that-the/)

[Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/)

> [I think self-deprecation is such a disease, and I want to cure everybody of it and so that's my contribution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/i-think-self-deprecation-is-such-a-disease-and-i-want-to-cure/)

[Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/)

> [Care is no cure, but rather corrosive, For things that are not to be remedied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/care-is-no-cure-but-rather-corrosive-for-things-that-are-not-to-be/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

Browse all 1,511 Cures quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "We can't cure a shortage by increasing the supply.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Garrett Hardin"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/we-can-t-cure-a-shortage-by-increasing-the-supply/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Cures"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/we-can-t-cure-a-shortage-by-increasing-the-supply/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/garrett-hardin-11328_cures_we-can-t-cure-a-shortage-by-increasing-t_2881374.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/garrett-hardin-11328_cures_we-can-t-cure-a-shortage-by-increasing-t_2881374.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/garrett-hardin-11328_cures_we-can-t-cure-a-shortage-by-increasing-t_2881374.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We can't cure a shortage by increasing the supply.” — Garrett Hardin",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Garrett Hardin",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "We can't cure a shortage by...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/we-can-t-cure-a-shortage-by-increasing-the-supply/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/we-can-t-cure-a-shortage-by-increasing-the-supply/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
